TMZ Sports - Page 50

Hulk Hogan told the Boys & Girls Club he's not trying to run from his past mistakes -- including his n-word scandal. Instead, he's trying to help others learn from it.

The wrestling legend was being inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Georgia on Wednesday night when he brought up his controversial past.

"With this foundation, I can be accountable. I can learn from my mistakes and I can move forward," Hulk said.

"And what's so cool now is working with the Boys Club, I have a chance to help these kids not make the mistake I made -- being at the wrong place at the wrong time or saying the wrong words."

The comments were met with cheers from the crowd.

Hulk is obviously referring to the 2006 incident when he was unwittingly recorded using the n-word to describe his daughter's African American boyfriend.

Hi kids. Do you like violence?

If the answer is "Yes," you're probably a fan of NFL-players-turned-MMA fighters -- because Nick Diaz says they tend to have the most entertaining [aka violent] fights.

We spotted Nick leaving Warwick nightclub in West Hollywood when we asked how he felt about Greg Hardy's upcoming UFC debut.

"Football players, they actually do the best in MMA," Diaz said.

Diaz explained how the sport attracts a lot of wrestlers -- but they tend to be one dimensional and develop bad habits. Also, most people want to see traditional martial arts -- packed with striking.

The takeaway ... ex-football players have a tendency to wanna bang more -- leading to more entertaining fights.

A famous Trump-friendly pastor says Colin Kaepernick and others with a voice on the subject of race are cordially invited to a proposed White House summit, with the centerpiece being Kanye West.

We got Darrell Scott Wednesday at Reagan National Airport and asked if he was, in fact, talking to the President about hosting a summit on race relations at the White House, which has apparently gotten fast-tracked thanks to Kanye's professed love for 45.

Scott says it's all true. But it's not just Ye he wants at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- he says his camp has reached out to Kaep as well.

Greg Hardy has a message to UFC star Derrick Lewis who recently said he'd LOVE to beat the hell out of the ex-NFL player -- careful what you wish for.

Hardy is gearing up for his first fight in the UFC Contender Series -- where he'll battle for a chance to win a real UFC contract.

Hardy says he's incredibly grateful for the chance, and promises to show Dana White he's a good person and worth the risk.

"I'm not trash or something to get scrapped aside,"Hardy says.

Hardy's past is what set off "The Black Beast" in the first place -- Lewis previously told TMZ Sports he believes Hardy is a "wife beater" and wants to teach him a painful lesson of his own.

As we've previously reported, Hardy was arrested for domestic violence back in 2014 and was initially convicted -- but he appealed and the conviction was overturned.

If Charles Barkley and Draymond Green actually do come to blows ... DRAYMOND WOULD GET ROCKED -- so says UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum!!

You know the backstory ... Charles said he wants to punch Draymond in the face. Draymond told Charles to bring it on.

So, who wins if these two actually scrap? We asked a guy who fights for a living.

"I got Charles in that," Kelvin said ... "I got experience and age in that one."

KG then dropped some "Rocky" wisdom -- "Every champion has one great fight left in him. And Charles might have it in him. He's a big dude!"

Charles has since apologized ... but c'mon -- these dudes wanna fight!!!

Meantime, Gastelum is prepping for a scrap of his own -- dude takes on Ronaldo Souza at UFC 224 next weekend in Brazil!

Kobe Bryant is talking even MORE trash about his former Lakers teammate, Smush Parker -- saying crappy teammates like Smush forced him to score 81 points back in 2006.

Yeah, it's been more than 12 YEARS since Kobe went insane on the Toronto Raptors ... but he still can't pass up an opportunity to dunk all over Smush -- a guy he hated back in the day.

This time, Kobe was doing a Q&A at USC back on April 2, when he was asked a trivia question -- who was the Lakers 2nd leading scorer in that legendary game?

When he learned it was Smush ... Kobe pulled a face and fired off some shots.

"What did he have, 4?"

Smush actually dropped 13 that day ... but Kobe didn't care and continued the attack.

"Now you know why I had to score 81" ... suggesting his supporting cast was pure trash.

Yes, this is REAL!!!!!

UFC superstar Paige VanZant was giving a rear naked choke demonstration to U.S. troops during a USO event with Max Holloway ... when she actually CHOKED OUT THE DUDE UNCONSCIOUS!!!

VanZant had selected a volunteer who agreed to let Paige apply the choke in front of a crowd of very excited soldiers.

But, just a few seconds after she began to squeeze, the soldier's lights went out -- and when Paige released the hold, he collapsed to the floor.

Julio Jones is gearing up for 2018 with a future Hall of Famer ... running wide receiver drills in Georgia with Terrell Owens.

The two hit up Johns Creek High School in the Atlanta area -- where they ran routes, worked on footspeed and of course, caught passes.

Jones looked great (of course) -- but 44-year-old Owens was pretty damn impressive, too!!!

Meanwhile, the newest ATL Falcons wide out -- Calvin Ridley -- was also putting in work during a military-style workout with his personal trainer in Alabama.

Ridely was the Falcons' first round draft pick -- 26th overall -- and people are expecting big things from him.

In fact, with rumblings of a rift between Jones and the Falcons ... Ridley could be the next #1 WR in the ATL.

The 72-year-old man who was rescued by Christian McCaffrey and his brother just got hooked up AGAIN -- this time the NFL star sent AWESOME Panthers gifts to celebrate being discharged from the hospital.

As we previously reported, Christian -- along with his brothers and friends -- spotted 72-year-old Dan Smoker, who had suffered serious injuries after falling 20 feet during a hike in Colorado.

Christian's group rushed to help -- with one of McCaffrey's friends performing chest compressions when the inured man stopped breathing. Christian called 911 and prayed with the man and his grandson until help arrived.

Smoker suffered major injuries -- including several broken bones and bleeding on the brain -- but he's made a spectacular recovery and was recently released from the hospital.

To celebrate, Christian sent Dan and his family a gift basket with autographed jerseys and an invite to a Panthers home game!

Gotta love a story with a happy ending!

A former Dallas Cowboys player is going to bat for Kanye West -- telling TMZ Sports he truly believes Kanye is trying to make America great ... despite his "bad choice" of words.

We spoke with Gerald Sensabaugh -- who's now running for mayor of Sullivan County, Tennessee -- and he tells us, "I understand where Kanye was coming from" in his "TMZ Live" interview.

"His whole thing is that we're choosing to be enslaved by choosing to listen to the media outlets, we're letting people influence our thoughts, influence the way we do things, and I think that's what he meant."

"Kanye's a different guy," the former safety said ... "He's outspoken. He said Trump's his boy so expect him to have some Trump-ish ways but I don't think he means any harm."

Julius Erving says he's not hurt by Kanye West's comments about slavery being a choice -- he's more hurt by comments that have come out of Donald Trump's White House.

We spotted the NBA Hall of Famer at Ronald Reagan airport in Virginia on Wednesday -- and with such an extensive background in civil rights activism, we had to ask about the Kanye West interview on "TMZ Live."

"He's entitled to his opinion," Erving said.

As for the impact of Kanye's statements on slavery, Erving explained -- "It doesn't hurt me personally because he's only one individual."

"It hurts more to hear things that are coming out of the White House."

Eric Reid has followed Colin Kaepernick's lead and has filed a collusion grievance against the NFL ... and sources tell us President Trump's name is involved.

The 26-year-old safety has not been signed since his contract with the 49ers ended at the end of the 2017 season and many believe it's because he participated in Kaep's kneeling demonstration during the national anthem.

Reid is a former Pro Bowl safety who racked up 67 tackles and 2 interceptions last season -- and many believe he should have easily gotten a roster spot in 2018 based on his talent.

Bleacher Report had Reid ranked as the 10th best safety in the league in 2017.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us ... Reid's grievance invokes Trump's name -- essentially claiming POTUS has intimidated owners into not signing players who kneel.

In fact, one NFL source described it as the "Bezos Effect" -- meaning owners are afraid if they cross Trump, he'll publicly attack them like he did to Amazon because he doesn't like Jeff Bezos.

Trump has regularly trashed players who took a knee during the anthem -- in fact, he just went after them during a rally in Michigan last week.

The NFLPA has issued a statement saying, "Our union is aware that Eric Reid and his legal representatives filed a collusion claim, which will be heard through the arbitration process as spelled out in our collective bargaining agreement."

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. appeared on 'Ellen' and revealed that his favorite player is Dwyane Wade ... so, guess who Ellen brought out onstage?!

BOOM! SHE BROUGHT OUT D-WADE!!!

The moment was incredible ... Wade told Shaw that he doesn't just consider him an "American hero" -- but he's also the perfect role model for his kids.

Shaw was clearly touched by Wade's words -- but it didn't stop there.

Wade asked Shaw what good he hopes can come from the terrible April 22 shooting in Nashville, TN -- and Shaw said he's now on a mission to bring awareness to mental health problems in the U.S.

Wade, again impressed, then brought out a special gift to help Shaw fulfill his mission.

Drake's beef with NBA player Kendrick Perkins went from 0 to 100 real quick ... the two shouted at each other during the Raptors vs. Cavs game -- with Drake reportedly calling him a "f***ing p*ssy."

The two started exchanging words at halftime ... with things getting so heated one of the Cavs players was holding Drake back.

Things continued after the game when Drake shouted to Perkins that he's a "f***ing p*ssy" and challenged him to come out of the tunnel, according to the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur.

FYI, Perkins is 6'10" and 270 lbs.

After the game, Perkins told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge [Ibaka] walking into halftime telling him 'We about to win this game,' and Drake butted in talking sh*t to me. So I said something back to him."

Drake's a Raptors superfan -- but he's also friends with a ton of NBA stars.

Toronto Raptors fans got straight-up PERSONAL when taunting Tristan Thompson during Tuesday night's playoff game ... with hundreds of people in the arena shouting, "KHLOE!!!"

Tristan and the Cavs were at Air Canada Centre for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals -- when Tristan stepped to the free throw line in a VERY close game.

The fans tried to do their part in messing with Tristan's head ... and began chanting the name of his baby mama whom he famously cheated on with multiple women.

But somehow, Tristan was able to tune out the haters ... and hit ALL FOUR of his shots from the line. The Cavs ended up winning the game in overtime.

Kanye West shouldn't just laugh off gang threats in L.A. ... so says Matt Barnes who says the real gangsters in Los Angeles don't mess around.

The ex-NBA star was leaving Catch when we talked about Kanye's appearance on "TMZ Live" -- including Yeezy's reaction to Daz Dillinger's recent call for the Crips to "f*** up Kanye."

"You gotta be careful," Barnes said ... "They don't play out here with gangs so you're treading on thin ice."

Barnes also reacted to Kanye's confession about getting liposuction -- and says it shows Kanye is "not in a comfortable, secure place as a man."

Barnes says a lot of what Kanye is talking about these days -- from Trump to his views on slavery -- are "bullsh*t" -- but he believes the old Kanye can still be saved.